First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE:FAF) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 199,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in First American Financial were worth $13,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FAF. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of First American Financial by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 3,993,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $249,333,000 after acquiring an additional 359,777 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First American Financial by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,963,516 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $247,481,000 after purchasing an additional 129,863 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in First American Financial by 6.2% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,626,142 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,724,000 after purchasing an additional 95,165 shares during the period. Reinhart Partners LLC. boosted its holdings in First American Financial by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,203,977 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $79,017,000 after purchasing an additional 161,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in First American Financial by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,189,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $74,251,000 after purchasing an additional 295,946 shares during the period. 89.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First American Financial

In related news, Director Margaret M. Mccarthy sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.63, for a total transaction of $229,705.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,843,874.85. This represents a 11.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded First American Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First American Financial from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of First American Financial from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.00.

First American Financial Stock Performance

FAF opened at $65.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36 and a beta of 1.24. First American Financial Corporation has a one year low of $53.09 and a one year high of $70.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $59.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.05.

First American Financial (NYSE:FAF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. First American Financial had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 10.41%. The company’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. On average, analysts predict that First American Financial Corporation will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First American Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 5.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About First American Financial

First American Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides financial services. It operates through Title Insurance and Services, and Home Warranty segments. The Title Insurance and Services segment issues title insurance policies on residential and commercial property, as well as offers related products and services internationally.